The Mariah Power Windspire recently received Popular Science’s stamp of approval when it won a Green Tech award in their December issue. The award represents a significant step forward in a given category.

The Windspire solves a few problems that traditional wind turbines run into. Zoning laws that prohibit the height that a typical wind turbine requires is not a problem with the Windspire which snags the wind at 30 feet and below. The Windspire design uses vertical blades which can start in even low wind conditions without the aid of a motor.

The annual energy production of the Windspire is 2,000 kWh. A single-person household uses about 3,000 kWh per year. If you live in a relatively windy area you could plant a couple Windspires, maybe throw in some solar panels and you’d be set to handle the energy needs of a full family.

The Windspire is retailing for $5,000. Not bad considering the small wind tax credit available in the U.S. will provide a 30% credit off the installed cost of a small wind system like this.